Faces Of Scram Africa - Eduard Piel
Another year, different stories, the Faces Of Scram Africa 2019 comes this year to explain and transmit the feeling about Scram Africa by the words of the riders. The first one of the group from 2019 is a brave rider who saw for the first time the Saharan Dunes on the best seat, of his own Triumph. Meet Eduard Piel, most known by us as Eddie, and his experience going out of "mundane responsibilities and un-fun realities of modern life..." to clean his mind and recharge his energies running free through Morocco's landscapes.
It was mid-March, I was at an airport saying goodbye to my girlfriend, she was leaving but not coming back; we’ve just broken up. My mind needed a distraction...
By coincidence, I saw a post about Scram Africa. Now I’ve known of Fuel before but didn’t know they did a yearly trip to Morocco. “Only Three Places Left” it said, the trip starts in 6 weeks. This was the perfect distraction, and before second-guessing it, I sign up and my name is added to the list of riders.
This was more than just packing for your typical holiday, the motorcycle had to be ready for a week-long trip in very punishing terrain. With no mechanical knowledge, tools or garage (because I live in the city) I prepare for a dune riding trip in just a month’s time. With the bike parked outside my front door, I set to work on it after work, often in the evenings with a torch, sometimes in the rain.
The short deadline flies by and it’s time to transport the bike closer to the starting line.
t’s May, we’re here, every face is a new one and none of the names are familiar. There are people of different ages and nationalities, varied riding skills and abilities, ambitions and achievements, careers and life stories. But none of that matters, because we are all here to do the same thing, just one thing - ride motorcycles in the desert.
There is no denying that being out in the vast open landscape of Morocco strapped to a lump of horsepower is addictive. There is no phone signal here to stream your favorite Spotify song or podcast, no Starbucks or KFC to stop for comfort food, it’s only you exposed to the elements, some friends and the hope that you reach the next petrol station before you run out of go-go juice.
Even though there is a phenomenal rawr from your engine screaming at 5000RPM, the deafening sound from the exhaust missing a silencer that you lost 100 kilometers back, and the suspension making a loud bang every time it bottoms out on a hidden dip; it’s complete silence in your head. Your mind is absent of thought, simply being in that moment in time chasing never-ending trails of dust on the horizon. Eyes scanning the terrain relaying this information into the reflexes of your right hand twisting the throttle, happening intuitively like you’ve done it a million times before. The motorcycle is relying on you being its “eyes” as much as you’re relying on it guiding you through hard rocks, spiky bushes, and deep sand. Both complement each other, working better together than as individuals — a synergy of man and machine.
I came here to get away from everyday problems, a way of escaping from mundane responsibilities and un-fun realities of modern life. And I’ve left with new friends, a sense of adventure, exciting memories, and stories that will stay part of my history forever.
It’s hard to accurately describe the experience with just words and pictures because it has more dimension to it. You just have to come to Scram Africa and experience it for yourself.
